The use of mining by-products for beneficial use may face approval, and acceptance barriers. This paper described the use of a sustainability framework to assess the safety, effectiveness and economic value of modified bauxite residue (Alkaloam) for use on agricultural land in the Peel-Harvey region of Western Australia . The results indicate the merit associated with using this by-product from a safety and, private, community and environmental value perspective. They may be used to indicate the worth of pursuing any future community acceptance and agency approval process._x000D_
The use of Alkaloam for beneficial use on agricultural land in Western Australia was first investigated over 25 years ago._x000D_
Efforts to gain regulatory approval and community acceptance of Alkaloam have had a complicated and enduring history. Understanding and assessing the value of a by-product using social and economic considerations, in conjunction with an environmental assessment, provided a more complete evaluation to that previously used._x000D_
FORMAL CITATION:Howard, B and Harris, S, 2010. A sustainability framework approach to understanding the value of by-product reuse, in Proceedings Sustainable Mining 2010, pp 66-73 (The Australasian Institute of Mining and Metallurgy: Melbourne).